Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn From: cmeadows@nyx.cs.du.edu (Chris Meadows) Subject: [AU] [LH] Evening Arrival Message-ID: <1993Oct7.150517.18280@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> Date: Thu, 7 Oct 93 15:05:17 GMT Andrea stumbled slightly coming up the path to the light- house. It had been a long day, even though she had spent a great deal of it dreaming while her body grazed under N'gray- tha's control. She was tired. Perhaps she just wasn't used to dealing with another spirit cohabiting her body. It was getting pretty dark now. She knew she probably shouldn't have waited this long before returning, but one thing had just sort of led to another, until she'd found herself in the Dragon's Inn as night was falling. Rather than stay there for the night, Andrea had elected to make the walk back up to the lighthouse. It might have been a bad idea, especially since four young toughs had noticed how tired she was and tried to take her. Andrea still wasn't sure what she'd done, but there had been a blinding flash and then all four of them were unconscious on the ground. Now, Andrea staggered up to the wall surrounding the lighthouse and its garden, leaned against the door for a minute, and knocked. She had to catch herself as it opened and she nearly fell into ar'Elya's arms. "Careful there, Andrea," ar'Elya warned, as she helped the young thief up the path to the Lighthouse. "Should I carry you, or can you walk OK?" "No, I can walk. I'm just really tired right now." Andrea leaned against the doorframe for a moment, catching her breath. Why was she so tired? She took a deep breath, drawing on the mental disciplines she'd learned from Fujiko, and some of the fatigue vanished temporarily. "I think I can make it." "Well, we're almost there," ar'Elya answered her cheerfully. "I know Sheryl and Jay will be happy to see you. And 'Raelf, of course." They stepped through the archway into the entryway of the Lighthouse proper. "You'll be needing a guest room, I think? Oh, yes, and welcome to my house, N'graytha." "I think she's sleeping right now," Andrea remarked. "But I'll convey your welcome to her when she awakes." As they walked down the hallway, ar'Elya explained, "Do you know how our guestrooms work?" "Uh, no...I don't think I've stayed here before." Andrea didn't THINK she had, but in her weary condition it was entirely possible that she had and had forgotten about it. Or so her train of thought went. "Oh, then perhaps I had better explain. The room magically shapes itself to whatever type of sleeping quarters you most desire and find comfortable. Everything in the room is as real as it appears, but remember that anything you take out of the room will cease to exist. No, that isn't to keep you from practicing your trade," she laughed at Andrea's look, "but just the limits of the spell. If there is anything within that you would like to take with you, just tell us and we can make arrangements." "I see," Andrea answered. Though, in truth, she was too tired to make much sense of of what she had just heard, she was sure that she would recall and comprehend it later. ar'Elya finally stopped in front of a door. "And here we are," she said. As Andrea looked at the plaque on the door, what had at first appeared to be scribbles formed itself into a flowing script that said "Andrea's Room". And then they were scribbles again...or were they? Andrea decided not to look at it; she was getting a headache. "Would you like me to come in and visit, or would you prefer to be alone now?" As Andrea shook her head, ar'Elya said, "All right. Remember that 'Raelf and I are around if you want anything, and there's a nice cold supper laid out in the dining room. Goodnight, then," and Andrea was surprised by a brief hug before the 'kan turned and walked back down the hall with a wave goodbye. Andrea reached out, pushed open the door with her name on it, and stepped inside. For a moment, the room was dark, and then it lit up. Andrea's jaw dropped. "I can't believe it..." she said. "This is just like the room I had back at the Selactican Guild!" Well, not EXACTLY like it...there were some differences. Such as the painting hanging on the wall, and the two doors that hadn't been present in the original room. But other than the minor things, the resemblance was perfect. There were the two bunks, on which Andrea and Fujiko had slept, and the rough chest of drawers and dresser where they had kept their things. There was the little pillow-lined wicker basket that was where Sheryl slept. There was the small table and a couple of chairs in the corner, with a deck of cards in a familiar design. Andrea set her pack on the floor, then walked over to the table and ran her fingers idly over the pockmarked surface. It was the same, right down to all the little scars that she'd forgotten. Oh, the money that had changed hands at this table...Andrea grinned in recollection. She now suspected that Fujiko had been letting her win quite a bit of the time--her way of providing spending money without seeming too generous. Next, Andrea looked at the painting that hung on the wall. It was her parents, the images as perfect as though it had been painted yesterday. Andrea swallowed a lump in her throat and blinked back the tears that came unbidden to her eyes. "Mother...father..." She reached out, touched the painting's surface with her fingertips. Although they had often been in her thoughts, she was ashamed to realize that she'd almost forgotten what they looked like. "Oh, if only I could see you one more time..." She sighed. "Are you watching me? Do you approve of how I'm living my life?" The painting didn't answer, so Andrea continued to wonder. And a thought struck her. "I wonder why this room didn't take the shape of our old farmhouse?" Then she realized why. "Because I was happier here?" She sighed. "Why was I happier HERE? Is it right that I should find the happiest time of my life after my parents died and Sheryl was cursed?" Then, as if she'd heard Andrea say her name, one of the doors opened and Sheryl trotted in. Andrea sighed. "Oh, hi, Sheryl. Where's Jay?" "Down playing with Little Rat and Kev," Sheryl nickered in response. Andrea realized that she was getting better at understanding Sheryl while in human shape. "Oh, okay." "What's wrong, sister?" Sheryl whinnied quizzically. "Oh, just feeling tired and a bit guilty, that's all." "About what?" Sheryl asked, trotting over to her "nest" and plopping down in it. "About this." She waved an arm around. "ar'Elya told me that this place would reshape itself according to my desires, or something like that. So it looks like this." "So?" "Why didn't it look like the old farmhouse? Is this where I was happiest? After both our parents were killed, and you were...changed? Why wasn't it the old farmhouse?" "You can't bring back the past, sister," Sheryl said. Andrea looked at Sheryl curiously for a moment, then understood. "You mean it's better that I stop living in the past, and start living in the present." Sheryl nodded. "Yes!" She got up, somewhat reluctantly. "Better go find Jay now." She trotted back out of the room. "Bye..." Andrea climbed onto the upper bunk and lay down. She would shower later; right now, she was so tired that she just wanted to get some sleep. But tired as she was, she couldn't suppress a grin. The top bunk had traditionally been Fujiko's demesnes, partly because she'd been afraid Andrea might fall out, and partly just because. It had been Andrea's sole ambition for a long time to get to sleep in that bunk. And now, she was getting her wish! As Andrea's fatigue took over, he thoughts turned to her younger sister. "How does she always know when I need her?" Andrea wondered, as she drifted off. -Your connection with your sister is very strong. It always will be,- N'graytha replied from the back of her mind. She'd been silent throughout the evening, either dozing or simply letting Andrea be alone. This was the last thing Andrea heard before falling asleep. -- Chris Meadows | Robotech/RIFTS/Palladium fanfic author/editor CHM173S@SMSVMA | They Might Be Giants about Star Trek aliens: CHM173S@VMA.SMSU.EDU | "Everybody wants prosthetic foreheads CMEADOWS@NYX.CS.DU.EDU | on their real heads!"